Kentucky Lake FLW Tour Major

Luke Clausen -- Competition Recap
Friday, June 08, 2012

> 39th (10, 28-07)

I based a lot of my optimism on my last day of practice. I caught about 18 pounds and I went back to those same areas and they didnít produce near the same quality yesterday. Today, they didnít produce near the same numbers or quality.

It was a bad read on my part because they were pulling some on Tuesday and they havenít run water like they did. In hindsight, I shouldíve fished new areas of the lake. I fished down near Paris because thatís my comfort zone here. I went as far south as Danville, but didnít go as far as New Johnsonville. It seems like a lot of guys were catching them up North. It makes you appreciate how much we depend on current sometimes. Iíve never fished in this little current.

It wasnít real phenomenal. Itís been a lot tougher than the normal Kentucky Lake I know. I caught some better fish today, but Iím not catching incredible numbers. Catching five good ones might be a challenge. On a scale of 1 to 10, Iím about a 6 right now.

In hindsight, I probably shouldíve spent more time down at New Johnsonville where there's some grass. I spent a day down there and now Iím wishing I wouldíve spent more time. I might just wind up running down there anyway. Thereís a high likelihood it could be won down there based on the weights recently. There is definitely a good number of big fish down there.

I havenít been real impressed with the umbrella rig. Iíve caught several fish on it, but it hasnít produced any better quality than anything else Iím using. Itís probably not something Iíll have on my deck, but Iíll have one in my rod box.

Jay Yelas - Practice Recap
Tuesday, June 05, 2012

I didnít catch many big fish in practice. The 4-pound class was the biggest I found. I caught a lot of fish and several keepers each day, but I donít think they were the quality a guyís going to need to do well here.

I shook off a bunch of fish, so hopefully those were the big ones. Iím looking forward to the tournament. I think I stand a shot to do decent.

Iím going to fish shallow on Barkley. It worked for me last year and I donít know why it wonít work for me again. It wonít be a true flipping bite, but itíll be shallow stuff.

Crowding isnít an issue for me. I havenít seen but two other competitors the whole practice. Thatís the neat thing about this lake. You can spread out and have a 5-mile area all to yourself. Itís one of the few places we go to where you can just get away and escape everyone.

Thereís just not very much water here so itís made it tough to fish deep. There are a lot of suspended fish right now and there are really not many options to fish shallow. I caught some fish, but Iím definitely disappointed with the weight I wouldíve had.

Iíll try a different area of the lake tomorrow and see what develops and see what the weather brings. Weíre supposed to get some rain tonight so maybe the little front and maybe them moving a little water will make things a little more predictable.

Jay Yelas - Day 1 Practice
Sunday, June 03, 2012

Photo: FLW/Brett Carlson

For me, it was a lot different than last year. The waterís down about 18 inches, maybe 2 feet, and everywhere I caught fish last year is high and dry. The shallow fishing sure wonít be what it was last year, but I think it was unusual to have the lake that high this time of year.

Today I fished Barkley and just looked around. I caught some fish, but nothing outstanding. The fishing seemed okay. I caught a decent bag, but nothing like what youíll need to contend here.

There are just tons of shad and baitfish in here. This is one of the most fun places we go all year long. There are so many bass in here. There may be more bass per acre here than anywhere we go.

Thereís some grass growing on Kentucky Lake so Iíll be over there tomorrow checking things out. Thatís what's nice about having 3 days of practice -- youíre able to move around and check out different things.